Dilatometric analysis of the sintering behavior of Bi2Te3 thermoelectric powders

Abstract

The sintering behavior of p-type bismuth telluride powder is investigated by means of dilatometric analysis. The alloy powders, prepared by ball milling of melt-spun ribbons, exhibit refined and flake shape. Differential thermal analysis reveals that the endothermic peak at about 280oC corresponds to the melting of bismuth, and peaks existing between 410oC and 510oC are presumably due to the oxidation and crystallization of the powder. The shrinkage behavior of ball-milled powders was strongly dependent of heating rate by the thermal effect exerted on specimens. In the case of 2oC/min, the peak temperature for the densification is measured at 406oC, while the peak temperature at a heating rate of 20oC/min is approximately 443oC. The relative density of specimen pressureless-sintered at 500oC exhibited relatively low value, and thus further study is required in order to increase the density of sintered body.